Running a Kubernetes API server from an etcd snapshot

Running a Kubernetes API server on a local workstation based on an etcd snapshot can be useful for debugging, and for understanding database backups. In a few simple steps this can be accomplished on Windows, Linux, or OSX.

First, locate the member/snap/db file, which is a backup of the etcd data directory. This file is usually stored in /var/etcd, /var/lib/etcd, or a backup server. Then, use this file to generate a new data-dir that can be run locally.